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A Discussion with Nacha on Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Fraud - Payments Pros: The Payments Law Podcast
CFPB's Section 1071 Final Rule (Part 3): Potential Problem Areas – The Consumer Finance Podcast
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Perspectives on Counseling on the Creation of Consumer Finance Products, with Guest Joseph Schuster, Managing Director and Senior Counsel, Goldman Sachs
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Recent Federal and State Debt Collection Developments
Medical Spa Start-Ups: What Providers Need to Know
Patent Licensing Tips and Takeaways
A Changed Legal Landscape? Analyzing California’s New Cannabis Laws
Obtaining a Recreational Marijuana License from Your Local Municipality
Mergers and Acquisitions in Healthcare: Getting Your House in Order
Nota Bene Episode 72: Space Law: License, Launch, Finance, Insurance, and Responsible Space Stewardship with Brian Weimer
Meritas Capability Webinar - Legal Cannabis and the Health Care Industry
While the world is watching Texas’ special legislative session for its high drama on redistricting and hemp, on Friday, the Texas Department of Public Safety (“DPS”) released information on the required Supplemental...more
On July 28, 2025, the New York State Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) revealed that they have taken inconsistent and positions with respect to measuring distances between dispensaries and sensitive locations in close...more
The Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management is set to conduct its second lottery for Minnesota Cannabis Retail Licenses. On June 5, 2025, the OCM held its first round of lotteries, conducting social equity applicant lotteries...more
A federal judge in Oregon has struck down the requirement that cannabis companies enter into a labor peace agreement (LPA) as a condition of obtaining or renewing a license. See Casala v. Kotek, D. Oregon, May 20, 2025....more
“Equal is not fair, and fair is not equal. Equal is obtainable but fair is not.” The Montgomery County Circuit Court overseeing the launch of Alabama’s medical cannabis program has an interesting dilemma on its hands. It...more
Texas is on the brink of expanding its medical cannabis program in a significant way. House Bill 46 (HB 46) passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature and now awaits action by Gov. Greg Abbott. He has until June 22 to sign...more
On the heels of the 2018 Farm Bill, some states have opted to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoid consumer products. One of the early movers in this area is the State of Minnesota. The regulations in Minnesota for hemp-derived...more
Nearly nine years after voters authorized the regulated sale of adult use cannabis in Massachusetts, the Joint Cannabis Committee is addressing the challenges (and that’s an understatement) the industry is facing with a very...more
Minnesota Adult Use Cannabis Update - We assisted multiple clients in completing and submitting their adult-use cannabis license applications to the Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”), and we continue to monitor how and...more
Tennessee enacted new legislation governing HDC - hemp derived cannabinoids, the state’s term for legal CBD and hemp that contains less than 0.3% THC. The new law does not take effect until January 1, 2026...more
Welcome back to the buzz, our monthly cannabis news and policy update. Your at-a-glance source for regulatory developments, agency announcements, and trends impacting the cannabis industry. In this edition of the buzz,...more
Following the landmark DNP-Z, Inc. v. New York State Cannabis Control Board decision on April 14, 2025, a second New York Supreme Court case reached the same conclusion. On April 25, 2025, in Rosedale Cannabis Dispensary, LLC...more
Alabama has enrolled legislation regulating the sale of consumable products (including beverages, edible products, and topical creams) containing THC or CBD derived from hemp, and has designated the Alabama ABC Board as the...more
At Ward and Smith, we are closely monitoring these developments to help our clients with the potential impacts on their businesses. Below is an overview of what stakeholders in the hemp industry need to know about this...more
In a significant decision impacting New York’s adult-use cannabis licensing framework, the Albany County Supreme Court ruled on April 14, 2025, in DNP-Z, Inc. v. New York State Cannabis Control Board et al. (Index No....more
On April 7, 2025, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) received final approval from an administrative law judge (ALJ) for its comprehensive adult-use cannabis regulations. The finalized rules, which take effect...more
“Compromise” sometimes gets a bad rap. And history teaches us that there can be bad compromises. But as your resident glass-is-half-full contributor who has also been closely following debate over access to consumable hemp...more
Although the prospect of an expanded recreational market has been on the horizon since 2022 when Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis, Ocean State residents continue to endure limited access to such products, which...more
Today, Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management announced that Minnesota’s final set of adult-use cannabis rules have been approved, will be publish in the State Register, and will go into effect later this month. After the...more
Massachusetts is making tactical moves to position itself as an East Coast leader in the cannabis industry with the introduction of social consumption regulatory reforms. The state’s cannabis industry has achieved major...more
The US Virgin Islands (“USVI”) is finally inching closer to launching a dual medical and adult-use cannabis program. Earlier this week the USVI Office of Cannabis Regulation (“OCR”) announced that applications for cultivation...more
Movement on legalizing cannabis inches ahead on a federal level - Cannabis rescheduling hearings began on January 21, 2025, to evaluate moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act as...more
Marking a significant step forward in launching Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis market, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) began accepting applications for cannabis business licenses on February 18, 2025. The...more
What if I told you that you could get a license to test medical cannabis in Alabama this July? Now is that something you might be interested in? Lost amidst the torrent of confusing messages and general circus surrounding...more
On January 22, lawmakers in Colorado introduced SB25-076, (the act) which aims to address concerns surrounding the availability of intoxicating products (including regulated cannabis products) within the state, especially to...more